Estate agent fees - Page 2

I would only say that there may be nothing stopping an agent from making that their terms, but they surely should make that clear to a prospective buyer.

They informed me by email only after the price had been negiogiated and agreed by myself and the seller. If I had known I would have negotiated a lower price to take account of the estate agent fees. Thankfully I have not paid a deposit on the property. 

The estate agent fees are also  5% of the sale price which seems extortionate in comparison to other fees I have researched.

Is that on D32 by any chance

5% + IVA seems the norm here - only option is the “fixed fee” chaps.

The seller is responsable for the real estate agent fee. If they want to stick it on you it's pretty simple in my opinion: just tell them no. You did not hire nore choose the real estate agent. Tell them they can take the deal at the price you offered or just walk away. Plenty of property for sale in the Murcia region. At the same time, get a different sollicitor. One that actually knows what he's doing and who is looking after your interests. 

It is in sector D, possibly D32 (I don't know how the sectors are subdivided)

In my experience of buying property the "norm" and legal requirements are 10% deposit (unrefundable if you cancel on the agreed sale price).  3% Commission  or even less, buying through English agent, 5% if through a Spanish agent and you pay the commission.( Not so through an English agent ) The norm is seller pays them.  Another ruse you might be asked to pay is Plus Valia  on a property you want to buy ,which the seller is also liable for, - but depends on nationality expectations and what can be negotiated. Also, watch out the seller does not ask for part payment in cash (to avoid taxes). What is law, and what actually goes on; is sometimes quite different in Spain.

It is common practice in Europe for buyer to pay the sellers estate agency fees. We bought in France and paid the fees we sold in France buyer paid our estate agency. The same occurs here in Spain , we bought an apartment paid the fees we sold the apartment buyer paid the fees. When you think about it it is swings and roundabouts.

The estate agent is contracted by the vendor to sell his/her property and the fees should be paid by him/her and not by the buyer, who does generally not sign any contract with any estate agent! The buyer is free to go to whichever estate agent he/she likes, who may be marketing the property that they want and they do not pay anything for this. There is often more than one agent selling each property but sometimes the vendor is offered better fees if he/she only signs up a single agent. If you have an agent trying to get the selling fees from you, then I would suggest that you find a different agent! The vendor pays for agents' fees for selling the property and the Plus Valía tax, if applicable (this is the increase in land value since the property was last sold and affects the price that the vendor can ask for the property, so is to his/her benefit). The buyer pays for his/her abogado to do the legal work, the Notary for the actual signing, and the government taxes due on the purchase. If buying a resale property, your abogado and the Notary, should ensure that any outstanding bills such as electricity, water, IBI (council tax) community charges etc. are paid or the monies have been retained from the amount that the vendor gets in his/her hand on the day of the signing to cover these debts. Any debts left on the property after the signing at the Notary, will be the responsibility of the new owner of the property to pay off, so ensure that your abogado does his/her job properly! It is not common, in Spain at least, for the buyer to pay for the estate agent's fees! I worked in real estate here for 10 years and never, ever came across this. The person who signs a contract with the agent is the person who should be paying for the service that they have contracted!

This is factually incorrect. Just to name a few countries where this is not the case (personal experience/knowledge): Holland, Belgium, Germany, Denmark, Zweden, Finland. So the fact it happens in France (and sometimes in Spain) does not make it common practice in Europe.